1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer system connecting a plurality of printers and to a method of determining a backup printer in the printer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Printer systems each connecting a plurality of printers are in use. In such a printer system, when one of the printers cannot output a print due to hardware failure, paper jam, or toner shortage (hereinafter this situation is called output-impossible state), so-called backup printing by switching to another printer (hereinafter called a backup printer) is carried out in some cases. There are methods of determining which printer carries out backup printing. For example, in an automatic backup printing method, a backup printer is selected according to a predetermined manner in the case where a printing command to an output-impossible printer is issued, and data are automatically transferred to this backup printer. In another method, a user determines a backup printer each time and re-issues an output command.
In the two methods described above, the former automatic backup printing is superior to the latter method utilizing user instruction, in terms of user convenience.
However, in the conventional automatic backup printing, information about which printer carries out backup printing is displayed only on a console (such as a personal computer) issuing a print output command, not on the printer that has been in an output-impossible state. Therefore, when a user tries to obtain his/her print at a location of the output-impossible printer to which the print output command has been issued, only error-state display or toner shortage display or the like notifies the user of the output-impossible state of the printer, and which printer carries out backup printing is not notified to the user. The user has to check the console in order to confirm the backup printer.
In the conventional method by user instruction, information about which backup printer is available is not displayed on the output-impossible printer but only on the console that has issued the print output command. Therefore, in order to specify a backup printer, the user has to reach the console and re-issues the output command therefrom.
The present invention has been conceived based on consideration of the above problems. An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a method of confirming a backup printer by using an output-impossible printer and to provide a printer system for carrying out the method.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of enabling an output-impossible printer to determine which printer carries out backup printing, and to provide a printer system for carrying out the method.
When a printer to which an output command has been issued is in an output-impossible state, a print output method of the present invention determines a backup printer from printers in the output-ready state and displays information of which backup printer carries out backup printing on the output-impossible printer.
In other words, the print output method of the present invention is a method used in a printer system connecting a plurality of printers, and used in the case where one of the printers receiving an output command is in an output-impossible state. The print output method comprises the steps of:
determining a backup printer from printers in output-ready state in the system;
transferring output data to the backup printer; and
outputting a print based on the transferred data by using the backup printer; while
displaying which of the printers is the backup printer on the output-impossible printer (the printer that has originally received the output command).
In the print output method of the present invention, it is preferable for the output-impossible printer to determine the backup printer.
In this case, it is preferable for the output-impossible printer to obtain information regarding the other printers so that the output-impossible printer can determine the backup printer based on the information. In the case where an apparatus other than the output-impossible printer determines the backup printer, it is also preferable for the apparatus to obtain the information regarding the other printers so that the apparatus can determine the backup printer based on the information.
As the xe2x80x9cinformation regarding the other printersxe2x80x9d, printer setting, busy or idle state, a paper size, a state of a consumable article (such as toner), a state of load (such as paper jam) and the like can be used. xe2x80x9cOutput prohibitedxe2x80x9d stateet for an individual printer may be included in the information. The printer set to the output-prohibited state is excluded from being a candidate of backup printer.
In the case where the information regarding the other printers has been obtained, it is preferable for the information to be displayed on the output-impossible printer. The information to be displayed is not necessarily all the information regarding the other printers that has been obtained. Alternatively, instead of the information itself, other kinds of information based on the information regarding the other printers, such as information as to whether each of the other printers can be a candidate of the backup printer, may be displayed.
In the case where the output-impossible printer determines the backup printer, if a backup-printer specification (specification by a user) is input, it is preferable for the backup printer to be determined based on the specification. The phrase stating xe2x80x9cbased on specificationxe2x80x9d refers to inclusion of the specification in judging criteria for backup printer determination, and does not necessarily refer to output from the printer that has been specified by the user.
A printer system of the present invention is a system for carrying out the print output method described above. In other words, the printer system of the present invention connects a plurality of printers, and the system comprises:
backup printer determining means for determining, in the case where one of the printers that has received an output command is in an output-impossible state, a backup printer from printers in output-ready state in the system; and
data transfer means for transferring output data to the backup printer. In the printer system, each of the plurality of printers comprises:
display means for displaying which of the printers is the backup printer.
In the printer system of the present invention, each of the printers may not necessarily have the backup printer determining means and the data transfer means. However, it is preferable for each of the printers to have the backup printer determining means and the data transfer means.
In the case where each of the printers has the backup printer determining means and the data transfer means, it is preferable for each of the printers to comprise printer information obtaining means for obtaining information regarding the printers other than itself. In this case, it is also preferable for the backup printer determining means to determine the backup printer based on the information. Furthermore, in this case, it is also preferable for each of the printers to comprise second display means for displaying the information regarding the other printers. Moreover, in the case where a user inputs backup-printer specification, it is preferable for the backup printer determining means to determine the backup printer based on the specification.
According to the print output method and the printer system of the present invention, when the printer receiving the output command is in an output-impossible state, the output-impossible printer displays which printer is the backup printer. Therefore, it becomes unnecessary to confirm which printer is the backup printer at a console that has issued the output command. In this manner, the system enables a user to easily find his/her print.
If the output-impossible printer that has originally received the output command determines the backup printer, print output is necessarily carried out even in the case where the console that has issued the output command cannot determine the backup printer. In this case, if the information regarding the other printers is obtained and the backup printer is determined based on the information, a suitable printer can be determined as the backup printer.
If the printers have the data transfer means, the printer that has originally received the output command can transfer the output data to the backup printer.
If the information regarding the other printers is obtained and displayed on the output-impossible printer, the user can specify the backup printer while referring to the information displayed on the output-impossible printer, without going back to the console.